Digital displays are gaining an ever-increasing presence in cockpits of vehicles, for example, cockpits of cars. They are used in infotainment and navigation systems, instrument clusters, and climate controls. The use of digital displays for automotive applications will continue to increase, as cost pressures from the consumer device market cause display prices to decrease. Furthermore, the flexibility that displays provide as an application's interface in the vehicle will become an important consideration in building vehicle cockpits. One of the primary shortcomings of digital display technology is the fact that digital displays are generally rectangular in shape as well as have very flat homogeneous surfaces. This does not provide much of an opportunity for an automotive designer to differentiate the physical form factor of their display application from other competitor designs. Furthermore, these form factor restrictions may decrease readability and usability of the display.
PCT International Published Patent Application No. WO 2006/024748 describes an instrument panel including two front faces and a method of forming a front face for the instrumental panel. The instrument panel includes at least one pointer indicator including a dial of indicator characters which are supported by a front face, an indicator pointer, and a motor for rotating the pointer around the dial. The instrument panel includes a second front face. The indicator pointer is disposed between the two front faces. The front faces are flat-screen printed and subsequently formed in a relief.
German Published Patent Application No. 10 2007 056 450 describes an interface device for a climate control system of a vehicle. On a display, digital outputs of an operation of the climate control system are displayed. For maximizing an illumination of the display a three-dimensional support structure is provided enclosing three LEDs and providing that the display is arranged apart from the support structure. This increases an efficiency of the illumination.
Furthermore, German Published Patent Application No. 10 2007 005 362 describes an operating element including a push-button with a circumferential light. When operating the push-button, a tactile feedback is generated and the light is illuminated for a short time. An operating surface of the push-button may include an illuminated symbol or label.